Read Online Circle of Stones by Catherine Fisher - Free Book Online

Cook’s dire gruel in the kitchen the next morning, Forrest came in & said, “Get yourself a warm coat on, Zac. We’re going out.”
    I looked up. “To the site?” I had no interest in the place, because all it was yet was a tilted muddy field above the town. Workmen were toiling to make it flat, digging out an enormous ledge for the circular street to rest on. If, indeed, it was ever completed.
    â€œNot the site.” My master held out his hands to the fire in the hearth. His hands are often cold, I notice. Also his asthma is worst in the mornings. “We’re going to Stanton Drew.”
    â€œIs that some village?”
    He laughed. As did Cook, & even the skivvy smirked. Which is what I despise about Forrest’s house. A gentleman should not eat in the kitchen, but we all do, because his dining table is a mess of plans & books.
    â€œA village, yes, but that’s not why we go. I have business there, & need the help of my assistant surveyor. It will be good training for you.”
    I assumed there was some fine house to be inspected & so nodded, abandoning the spoon in the cold gruel. But as I went out he said, “You’ll need a bag. We will not return till tomorrow.”
    Running up to my small room I wondered what had put him in so good a temper. After the farrago with Compton, I would have thought he would be savage with frustration, but he was as changeable as the wind.
    I threw my nightshirt & fresh linen & some money in my leather bag. It’s a worn, expensive thing & I love the feel & smell of it, because it was bought for my father when he was a young man setting off for Europe, to tour the wonders of Paris and Rome. Which was something I too had sworn I would do when I had made back all the money he had gambled away.
    The thought of my lost inheritance brought on that tightness in the mind that I know is anger—a hard unspoken anger against my father’s stupid, stupid act. So to drive it away I sat & pulled on my boots & thought of Forrest. What was the meaning of the word
Oroboros
? Why the serpent eating its tail? I planned to wait until Forrest was out & then consult his books on druidry & his heaps of musty antiquarian pamphlets. If there was some secret meaning, I meant to know it.
    The landing creaked.
    I paused, one boot half on. Then I stood & hopped to the door & flung it open.
    The landing was empty. But there was a trace of rose scent in the air.
    â€œStop spying on me,” I roared. There was no sign of her, but I knew she could hear me.
    â€œIf you touch any of my possessions I’ll tell Forrest and have you thrown back on the streets!”
    A faint giggle, up the attic stair.
    I went back in & slammed the door. What was he thinking of, taking in such a creature! All over the city the rumor had run. Did he want to destroy his business? Not that I cared either way. What was his business to me? But then I remembered a dream I had had in the night, just a fragment of it, of the great circle of houses standing in the sun, filled with people, its center green with five tall trees. And grudgingly I knew I would like to see the Circus built.
    We set off at ten, riding the only two horses he kept. At the corner I looked back & saw Sylvia waving from the doorstep. She wore a blue shawl against the cold & there was a pert smile on her lips. Forrest waved back. I looked away.
    In the stink & filth of the old part of the city, I was glad to be a little above the throng, but in the fashionable streets we made better progress. I was able to see the more eminent citizens parading, ladies in the latest modes & men with fast curricles & carriages. A dashing barouche drawn by a pair of glossy black mares came by us at speed, rattling over the stone bridge. I glimpsed a handsome man at the reins; he glanced at us as he passed.
    â€œLord Compton in a hurry,” I said, remembering the card he had given me. I had still not decided whether to